


Facundis

by katiebour



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Cultural Differences, Fluff, Foreign Language, M/M, Male Homosexuality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-07-26
Updated: 2011-08-11
Packaged: 2017-10-21 18:56:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/228512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiebour/pseuds/katiebour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a prompt on the k!meme asking for M!Hawke and Fenris to explore/learn languages/Tevene together.</p><p>All of the Tevene can be found in my Tevene reference/dictionary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I spend so much time writing about Tevinter these days? XD

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Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he. - Publilius Syrus

********************************************************************************************************

Anders rolled his eyes.  "Honestly?"

The elf across the table from him bristled.

"You can't think of _one_ thing that's decent about Tevinter?" the mage continued.

"It is not a _decent_ place," Fenris gritted out.

"Oh, come _on_ ," Anders continued, voice full of irritation.  "Even here mages make up only a hundredth of the population- surely not _everyone_ in Tevinter is a magister.  Are they all terrible people as well?"

"Those who are not magisters serve magisters," Fenris replied tersely.  "And there is litte I wish to say about that."

"Holidays," Anders replied doggedly, "You must have holidays even in Tevinter."

"Yes, holidays with great feasts and celebrations, where the slaves must work in shifts to produce vast quantities of food, most of which ends up feeding livestock while the slaves eat coarse bread," the elf answered.

Garrett glared daggers at Anders, hoping the idiot mage would _get the message_ and shut up.

Anders threw up his hands.  "Fine, I give up,  But if you can't name at least _one_ thing, then it'll have to be a dare."

Isabela giggled drunkenly.  "Make 'm take off his breeches," she slurred, "Wanna see what color his smalls are."

Garrett and Fenris raised their eyebrows in alarmed tandem- they both knew, of course, that Fenris wore _no_ smalls, and that he'd be quite unhappy to prove the fact in the middle of the Hanged Man.

Anders shrugged at the pirate.  "Why not?  Fenris, I dare you to-"

" _Pluitanis_ ," the elf blurted out.

Everyone at the table turned to look.  "Plui-what?" asked Varric.

" _Pluitanis_ ," the elf repeated, "The second month- Guardian?" he asked Garrett, who nodded.

They waited.

"Well?" Anders said impatiently.

"Well _what_ , mage?" Fenris replied.  "You asked me to name one thing I liked about Tevinter, and I have done so."

"You can't just name off a random month and leave it there," Anders said indignantly, "You could be making it up for all we know.  What's to like about it?"

"It is quiet," the elf said, eyes inscrutable.  " _Hiemali Finis_ \- Winter's End," he corrected, "is over, and planting season is months away.   _Pluitanis_ is the Month of Rains, and the household generally stays inside.  There is little gardening or outside work to be done- most slaves are preparing for _Nubulis_.  The sound of the rain is- pleasant," he finished.

Garrett was entranced- Fenris normally spoke so little about Tevinter, and he admitted to himself that he was unbearably curious.  His curiosity often got him into trouble- he grimaced at the memory of that cave near Sundermount.  " _Let's just see what's inside_ ," he'd coaxed, and hours later they'd walked out, exhausted and bloodied, Fenris with a broken arm that'd had to wait until they'd trudged back to Kirkwall and Anders' clinic.  The look on Fenris' face, teeth clenched, skin pale with every step had haunted Garrett for weeks.  He'd decided on that day that no matter how much his lover and his fellow mage hated each other, he was still bringing Anders along.  His own magic was generally destructive, and he'd never felt so helpless as on that unbearably long walk.

" _Nubulis_?" Merrill chimed in.  "What's that?"

"Here you call it Drakonis, the third month," Fenris replied, "but in Tevinter it is the Month of Marriage, when merchants and magisters alike wed.  It is very nearly the busiest time of year, except for planting and harvest."

"Everyone gets married in the same month?" Garrett asked.  "Is there some sort of rule?"

Fenris snorted.  "Hardly," he answered, sparing a brief smile for his lover, " _Eluviesta_ , The Month of Summer Floods follows, and few choose to venture outside.  It is humid, the insects are innumerable and bite constantly, and the rains and floods make travel hazardous."

"What does that have to do with getting married?" Merrill asked curiously.

"It gives the newly-wed something to do with such an- abundance of leisure," he said with a small cough.

Isabela started laughing uncontrollably.  "Now that would be _my_ favorite month," she giggled, "Except for the whole wedding part, of course."

Merrill still looked confused.  "What?" she said plaintively.  The rest of the table groaned.  "Did I miss something dirty again?"

********************************************************************************************************

 _Several days later..._

Garrett waited impatiently in the study for Fenris to arrive.   _I wish he'd just stay here,_ he thought irritably.   _That house is falling apart, and it smells of dust and mold._   But today was their bi-weekly reading lesson, after which Garrett planned to drag his lover to bed and ravish him mercilessly.

As he paced the room, running fingers idly across the books, he noticed the four Tevinter tomes from Lothering.  They'd been part of his father's book collection, sent to him by Auntie Miriam after the Blight.  He was still amazed by how many things she'd managed to save for them, including his father's staff and robes, but the books he remembered with especial fondness.  

Garrett remembered many a night as a small boy that he'd woken up with nightmares, only to find his father in front of the fire, idly turning the page of some book or other.  Da would pull Garrett onto his lap and read to him, stories of dragons and griffons and princesses and magic swords, or the fables from Tevinter, by that fellow... Esop?  Aisopos?  Garrett couldn't remember the man's name, but the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper, the Lion and the Mouse, or the Oak and the Reed had transfixed his imagination, translated and rendered in his father's calm, soothing voice.

On a whim, he pulled out the slim volume- he'd never learned to read Tevinter, but he remembered the illustrations- perhaps Fenris would enjoy it?  Garrett flipped through the pages, eyeing the incomprehensible words.  The script was the same, and he could guess at some of the meanings, but-

" _Famis via vulpis alta en vinea, uvi umo petabat superior adsilians fortum_ ," he read, shaking his head.  What in Thedas was a ' _vulpis_?'  It sounded vaguely lewd-

He heard a snort from the corner of the room, and turned to see his lover at the top of the stairs, biting the corner of his mouth in an attempt not to smile.

"Your accent is atrocious," Fenris commented, walking over, and Garrett rolled his eyes.

"Considering that I have no idea what in Flames I'm saying, I think I did rather well," he countered, handing the book to the elf.

Fenris looked at the cover, puzzling out the text.  "Why would you have a book you cannot read?" he asked.

"It was my father's," Garrett replied, "He had an entire mess of books in Tevinter.  He never taught us to read it, but he'd translate the stories for me as a boy."  He shrugged.  "I thought you might enjoy reading something in your own tongue for a change."

"I've never read anything in Tevene," he reminded Garrett, leafing through the book to the page with the illustrated fox.

" _Famis via vulpis alta en vinea_ ," he read, and Garrett was surprised at how smoothly the words flowed from the normally hesitant reader.   _I suppose he doesn't have to stop and think about the translation._

"What does it mean?" he asked curiously.

Fenris looked down at the page.  "It is the story of the fox and the grapes- are you not familiar with it?"

Garrett shook his head.  "Father didn't read us all of the stories, and it's been years- I remember the Ant and the Grasshopper."

Fenris looked down at the book.  " _Famis via vulpis alta en vinea_ ,"  he repeated, "Hunger drove the fox deep into the vineyard.   _Uvi umo petabat superior adsilians fortum-_ " He paused to consider for a moment- "He reached for the highest grapes, leaping strongly.   _Ea na possa peto, sic loquabat-_ he could not reach, and so he said: ' _Bese na adhoc matura; na voli acerba cao'_ -"

His voice cut off, and Garrett was astonished to see his lover _snicker_.  He could count on one hand the number of times he'd heard Fenris laugh, and that amused smile-

"What?" he asked.  "What did he say?"

Fenris was openly grinning now.  "He said- 'you are not-"

He snickered again, uncontrollably.  "'You are not yet ripe- I do not wish to take the bitter.'"  He continued on- " _Quaeore detractas illum na acquiras, hic fabula aptevas a ipsas_.- Whoever disparages that which they cannot acquire must apply this tale to himself."

"A clever fox," Garrett said with a smile.

"Indeed," replied Fenris, the amused look reaching his eyes in a way that made Garrett melt.

"Read another?" Garrett asked.

"Perhaps- another time," Fenris said, setting the little book down gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- the Tevene is not exactly Latin- I've simplified the language and brought it in line with Fenris' in-game dialogue.  What you see here is my rendering of the Latin into Tevene via my created reference/dictionary.  The names of the months (Very, very close to Latin) are taken directly from the codex entry on the Thedan calendar.
> 
>  _Facundis_ is Tevene for "eloquence."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part II! I anticipate three or four parts total, the next of which will feature Catullus, Tevene in the bedroom, fluff and smut!
> 
> Sorry it's short- the muse is grouchy and its a bit like pulling teeth. XD

_A few weeks later:_

Garrett shifted slightly, prompting a lazy "hnn?" from the elf who was snuggled up against him on the divan.  

"I've been meaning to ask you," he said quietly, and felt Fenris shift just a bit, waking up slightly to listen.  "You remember when I told you about the books my father had, in Tevinter?"

The elf made a neutral sound of assent.

"I was wondering- if you might consider teaching me?"  Garrett fumbled through the request, not sure how it'd be received.  "I've always wondered what they said-"

Fenris turned on his belly, looking at Garrett with a slight frown.  "There is very little from Tevinter worth knowing," he said.

"It can't be all bad," Garrett said, and as the elf stiffened in his arms he finished hurriedly, "After all, _you're_ from there."

Fenris rolled his eyes, but the mage felt him relax.  "Flattery will get you nowhere," he replied.

Garrett grinned.  "On the contrary, my gorgeous, deadly, grouchy love, I would sincerely hope that further ruminations on the nature of your beautiful body, your feather-soft hair, the emerald-green of your eyes and the length of your-"

"Garrett," Fenris interrupted, and Garrett was pleased to see that despite the tone the tips of his lover's ears had gone pink.

"Please, oh magnificently endowed one?" he said, batting his eyelashes coquettishly at the elf.

"Pfaugh, it's worth doing simply to silence that mouth of yours," Fenris replied in exasperation, and Garrett grinned in victory.  "Get your books."

Fenris sat up and watched Garrett walk out of the room; he returned several minutes later with several large tomes and the slim volume of fables.  "I'm not even sure what they're about," Garrett said, setting them down between the two men on the divan.

Fenris picked up the first and eyed the title critically.  " _De herbi:  malagmata e philtri_ ," he read.  "It reads 'On Herbs:  Poultices and Potions," he translated.

"Useful enough," Garrett nodded.  "What about the others?"

Fenris set the herbal compendium down and picked up the next one, then set it down quickly with a growl, markings glowing faintly.  "It is magical," he said shortly.

Garrett picked it up gingerly and looked- "Did it hurt you?" he said, turning it over in his hands.

"Uncomfortable," the elf replied, raising an eyebrow as Garrett held the book towards him.  "Garrett," he warned.

"Just tell me what the title is," Garrett wheedled, "If you teach me enough I can see for myself if it's garbage or not."

Fenris scowled.  "It's magical and Tevinter- what could it be _but_ filth?"

Garrett rolled his eyes.  "We have a saying in Ferelden about babies and bathwater," he answered dryly, "perhaps you're familiar with it?"

Fenris looked at him for a moment, then the corner of his mouth quirked reluctantly.  " _Exinaneve lacum lavandi, sed infantum eacum_ ," he admitted, "Empty the bathing-tub, but not the infant with it," he translated.

"That's the one!" Garrett grinned.  "I promise, if the title says 'One-Thousand and One Ways to Practice Forbidden Blood Magic' that I'll toss it on the fire myself."

Fenris looked at the book, careful not to touch, and after a moment, read " ' _De schola magis potestatius e usi_ '- On the School of Force Magic and Its Uses," he translated.  He looked at Garrett, then scowled.

Garrett attempted to school his face into polite interest instead of the curiosity that had obviously flashed rampant across his face, but Fenris had read him, well, like a book.

"I'm not helping with that, Hawke," he said firmly, and Garrett set it aside quickly.  He was only 'Hawke' when Fenris was truly irritated at him.

"Sorry,"  he offered.  The elf looked at the ground, still scowling, and as the soft white hair shifted to hide his lover's face, Garrett felt something in his chest squeeze painfully.

"Fenris," he said softly, "I won't ask you to read something that makes you uncomfortable.  I'd still like to learn, but we have these other books-" he gestured to the stack- "and once I've got the hang of it, I can read it myself."

The tension went out of the elf's shoulders and Garrett heard a sigh.  "I apologize," came the low rumble, "I _know_ that magic has its uses-"

"But you're not comfortable with it," Garrett finished.  "That's fine, love," he said, and watched the tips of those adorable ears go pink again.

"Enough reading for the day?" he said, injecting as much suggestion into his voice as he could.

Fenris looked up at him, and Garrett gave him his best leer.

"Garrett-" he said, with the faintest of smirks, and Garrett tackled him, books sliding to the floor.

"Oaf," came the muffled voice, "let me _up_ -"

"Or what?" Garrett said, grinning.  "Or you'll fuck me so hard with that magnificent cock that all of Hightown will hear?   _Do your worst_."

A strangled groan of exasperation was all the reply he got, and Garrett set about provoking his not-entirely-unwilling elf.


End file.
